The story follows 12-year-old Nanning, who spends the final weeks of the war with his family in an isolated community on the North German island of Amrum. His daily life is filled with work, hunting, and helping his mother survive in a time of scarcity, while the outside world gradually collapses and brings new, unexpected conflicts. The end of the war does not bring relief, but rather uncertainty and the need to come to terms with the consequences of the past.

The film is based on a personal memory and screenplay by Hark Bohm, Akin’s longtime friend and mentor, who grew up on the island of Amrum. He originally planned to direct the project himself, but due to age and health reasons eventually passed it on to Fatih Akin. Akin initially intended to produce the film only, but ultimately took over as director as well, shaping it into a “inherited” personal story deeply rooted in themes of memory, guilt, and identity.

Akin delivers an intimate coming-of-age story that blends a child’s perspective with historical trauma and questions of collective guilt. The film focuses on the formation of identity in a ideologically fractured society and explores how personal morality takes shape at the moment when the old world is definitively falling apart.

The film had its world premiere in the Cannes Première section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Cast: Jasper Billerbeck, Laura Tonke, Lisa Hagmeister, Kian Köppke, Lars Jessen, Detlev Buck, Jan Georg Schütte, Matthias Schweighöfer a Diane Kruger.

Distributor: CinemArt SK